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Brilliant and fluent in too many languages to count, 15-year-old Sierra Wright can't seem to communicate what is important to her in any language. Though April Wright stubbornly keeps an upbeat attitude about her daughter's future, she has let her own dreams slip away. Just across the bridge lives old Luca, scarred from his time in a Romanian gulag years before. Though he has seemingly given up on people, Sierra is drawn to him despite his prickly edges. No one else is comfortable with the unpredictable old man spending time alone with Sierra, not even Luca's son. Yet it is this unconventional relationship that will bring two families together to form friendships and unearth their family stories, stories that just might give them all the courage to soar on wings toward a new future.

This is such a touching story. I don't think I have read another that had such a package of hurts to deal with. It is a little depressing in the beginning. But that is the presentation of each character's past and wilting hope for the future. In the end you learn one truth -- God is beside us holding our hand while we stumble through our life. There is no need for your spirit to be down and depressed.

Luca's life is a short version of so many other Romanians, Moldavians, Russians and other USSR Countries citizen's that were unfortunate to live during that period of time. Comunists weren't cruel they were diabolic beasts that ruined one too many lives, each very precious.

But then I think of the eternity and I realize that the joke was on them, and I pity them.

But the book isn't just about Luca, its about April, who wanted to paint rainbow in the sky, its about Sierra that had a genius mind, its about a boy Carlos who dared to love her, and its about Nicolae who like them all lived with consequences of other people's choices.

How do you live your life? Do you, like a sparrow, sing the same song whether you are happy or depressed? Do you realize that each choice you take is affecting everyone in your life and not just you? Do you realize that depression isn't a disease but a choice?

This book shouldn't be a fiction, it has too much truth in it.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from David C Cook Publisher through NetGalley.com in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just finished THE LANGUAGE OF SPARROWS by Rachel Phifer and closed the book with a deep sigh of satisfaction. What a lovely and positively refreshing story--so unlike the same old same old. Ms. Phifer tells the story of a young (and very realistic) teenage girl. Though she can speak many languages, she has trouble communicating. What more, others fail to reach her. The same holds true of an older man whom she meets. He's a man of mystery, from a haunted past. Yet, with this story's focus on how God's love can bring around good after what seems like an impossibly long time slips by, this story was uplifting because the characters weren't just survivors, but "thrivers" in His love for us.